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Surviving Anxiety

theatlantic.com

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Re: Surviving Anxiety

#51

Post by catchaway1 »

someone903209 wrote: post #41
catchaway1 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a question for you actually. I have noticed things very similar to what you talk about after a few years of regular smoking. I started at 19 and I'm 21 now (edit, 22, forgot my own age). I used to evangelize marijuana since it has no overt medical side effects, but I think I'm coming to realize what you are talking about -- it kinda does make you stupid, like my Mom warned me about years ago. And not just when…

The common thing to point out on these kinds of anecdotes are the "started at 1# and I'm 2# now" part of it. I started at 23! Didn't even bother drinking until 21! This is what all the studies are about and usually are conclusive about - the brain is still forming in these years, and you really should wait. (Although, in my opinion, the legal age for both should be 18). My advice for the "did I lock the door" / "did…

Habits actually make it worse for me because I go through on autopilot and then I have no way to confirm mentally if I skipped a step or not.

What helps me the most is to actually make a mnemonic to remember that I did something when I did it, by closely paying attention to my specific actions. For example, if I lock the door, I will specifically check my watch and note the date and time and that yes, I did just lock my door right then. I find I can get relief by referencing that timestamped memory, whereas with truly habitual behavior I still need to double check. Using a mental checklist or something would probably be a good option too, but then I have to compose the checklists beforehand and it's a pain.

I do think there is something to be said for the age question, although starting at 19, I think I was passed the main formative period. Actually I think the most important thing is the # of years, since I would not be saying these things after 1 or even 2 years of smoking, but only now almost 3 years later am I starting to get concerned.

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#53

Post by UrMomReadsHN »

kirsebaer wrote: post #49
hvs wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Effexor XR was very helpful for both myself and family members. Just because something doesn't work for you doesn't mean it should be "illegal".

MDs should warn patients about long-term benzo use. These drugs are only approved for a few weeks of use. I have talked with many MDs who are in denial about benzodiazepine addiction and adverse-effects. These MDs write prescriptions without properly informing their patients.

Not sure if you are replying to the right comment. Effexor XR is an SNRI, not a benzo.

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#54

Post by jawngee »

foobarqux wrote: post #32
refurb wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly benzodiazepines should almost never be taken long-term for anxiety. They are fantastic drugs for short-term use, but in the long-term they tend to only make things worse. You don't have to take them for very long to have withdrawal symptoms after stopping. The effects of stopping can include crippling anxiety. Not exactly the best thing for someone having bad anxiety in the first place.

There is a meta-study by Kripke which concludes that even very rare use of benzos triples your likelihood of death, controlling for other factors.

That was actually refuted by the guys Kripke cited:

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/264345529_Reply_to_E...

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#55

Post by priorstoner »

catchaway1 wrote: post #38
throwaway1 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (because it has no real downsides) Ohhh boy. On this throwaway to say otherwise. I'm sorry if this post is a bit incoherent because I'm horribly tired, still getting past the nuts insomnia phase of quitting. I've smoked a lot of weed. Started smoking in high school, heavily when I was 19 until a couple weeks ago (I'm 26 now). About an ounce a month over that time, sometimes two ounces. First it was for insomnia, th…

I have a question for you actually. I have noticed things very similar to what you talk about after a few years of regular smoking. I started at 19 and I'm 21 now (edit, 22, forgot my own age). I used to evangelize marijuana since it has no overt medical side effects, but I think I'm coming to realize what you are talking about -- it kinda does make you stupid, like my Mom warned me about years ago. And not just when…

Here's another anecdote, for what it's worth:

I started smoking at age 21, when I graduated college a year early, and smoked nonstop after graduation until age 23.

At that point, my life basically fell apart, and it was definitely related to being high 24/7.

So I quit cold turkey. By age 25, I had started my own web business that was very successful. SaaS business, recurring revenue, amazing growth, etc. I was driving a fancy car, living in Palo Alto, and was on track to being a millionaire by my late 20's, almost guaranteed, just based on the growth of the business. I was so financially secure that I even got married and had a kid very young.

Of course, running the business (plus starting a business at the same time) was stressful. There were customers, partners, employees, etc., to deal with. And a toddler, and new wife.

I had very little support or mentors. None of my family or friends were entrepreneurs and I had no connections.

Eventually, I started getting migraine headaches on a regular basis. Around age 27. I convinced myself that smoking marijuana again was a logical thing to do, despite the fact that it had literally destroyed my life after college, and I had to rebuild my life back up again already.

I was smoking large quantities of high grade stuff. I had a lot of money from my business, so I went all out. Oils, kiefs, fancy bongs, the whole deal.

Being high all day, I started making terrible decisions and being really reckless with my business.

Long story short: within 12 months I went from a highly profitable, debt-free, lifestyle business that allowed me to effortlessly live in the heart of Silicon Valley (out of choice -- I could have lived anywhere I wanted to), to having a nervous breakdown, bankrupting my business, and ending up $250,000 in debt.

Today, I am 34. I am still paying off the debt from that mistake. I have no business, and work a "shitty" (meaning, comfortable six figures, but no real ownership) job as a software engineer. I am regularly depressed when I think about what I lost, and how foolish I was to lose it.

This is an extreme case, and of course only an anecdote. But it's pretty black and white: smoking a lot of marijuana all the time made me dumb and caused me to make really bad decisions.

As for weaning off of marijuana and its resultant impact on the sharpness of mind:

I found that after 3 days, there is a very noticeable difference. You are probably about 70-90% recovered at that point. But it takes a good 6-12 months to get that back that really sharp "edge" that you once had, the remaining 10-30%.

But, as I hope I have related in this story, it's not just about getting back the intelligence and sharpness of mind. It's that even when you get that stuff back, you will still be left with the consequences of whatever dumb shit you did while living your life high all the time.

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#56

Post by freedombeer »

applecore wrote: post #44

If you feel intense anxiety prior to public speaking, you should directly address your issues with public speaking, rather than resorting to self-medication.

If have to agree with this. Deal with the issue, or stop public speaking. Enjoy your life. Unless... Perhaps there are reasons people put themselves through the anxiety processes without dealing with the situation in a coherent fashion. Especially if it involves such drastic coping mechanisms.

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#57

Post by sjf »

aantix wrote: post #29
aantix wrote: post #5

I had been feeling a little blue the past few months. I didn't want to take an anti-depressant (too heavy and too many side effects). I read this book : http://www.amazon.com/The-Mood-Cure-Program-Emotions-Today/d... She basically advocates for the supplements 5htp and St John's Wort taken three times a day (empty stomach ideally). Her theory is that a lot of our depressive moods are due to nutritional deficiencies a…

Why the downvote?

Because you're effectively taking unregulated medicines with similar mechanisms to standard anti-depressants?

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#58

Post by throwaway_217 »

manmal wrote: post #21

I had anxiety years ago, with panic attacks whenever I was on a train for more than a few minutes. I was also constantly afraid of having contracted fatal diseases. No more. I did a lot of different probiotics (Mutaflor, some generic L-bacillus stuff, homemade kefir, Kombucha,...) in the last years, and anxiety has completely gone away. Here is some possible explanation: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reading-be…

Not sure if related, but my severe social anxiety started after I had a flu (as a kid, 2 weeks in bed) and was probably treated with antibiotics. I've just recently realized that there could be a connection. Haven't got rid of it.

Edit: Just found this: http://www.scribd.com/doc/28819342/Experimental-Treatment-fo... I'm going to try it and report back.

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#59

Post by UrMomReadsHN »

catchaway1 wrote: post #51
someone903209 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The common thing to point out on these kinds of anecdotes are the "started at 1# and I'm 2# now" part of it. I started at 23! Didn't even bother drinking until 21! This is what all the studies are about and usually are conclusive about - the brain is still forming in these years, and you really should wait. (Although, in my opinion, the legal age for both should be 18). My advice for the "did I lock the door" / "did…

Habits actually make it worse for me because I go through on autopilot and then I have no way to confirm mentally if I skipped a step or not. What helps me the most is to actually make a mnemonic to remember that I did something when I did it, by closely paying attention to my specific actions. For example, if I lock the door, I will specifically check my watch and note the date and time and that yes, I did just lock…

>at 19, I think I was passed the main formative period.

Not in the slightest. That doesn't happen until 25. :)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1411647...

Re: Surviving Anxiety

#60

Post by 0xdeadbeefbabe »

Kenji wrote: post #36
0xdeadbeefbabe wrote: post #7

> Stoic philosophy, and audiotapes I ordered off a late-night TV infomercial. Would a stoic be happy or sad that stoic philosophy didn't work for him?

A stoic does not judge reality like that. He acknowledges that it did not work and moves on. He need not ponder about the fact that it did not work because it cannot be changed and no thinking should be done without a purpose.

Stoic philosophy sounds something like mindfulness or meditation [0], except for the part about "no thinking should be done without a purpose."

[0] http://amzn.com/0385303122

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